--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best work in literature is always…" description: "\"“The best work in literature is always done by those who do not depend upon it for their daily bread, and the highest form of literature, poetry, bring..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/oscar-wilde-16_best-work_the-best-work-in-literature-is-always-do_371707.jpg" --- # The best work in literature is always done by those who do… ![“The best work in literature is always done by those who do not depend upon it for their daily bread, and the highest form of literature, poetry, brings no wealth to the singer. For producing your best work also you will require some leisure and freedom from sordid care.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/oscar-wilde-16_best-work_the-best-work-in-literature-is-always-do_371707.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/oscar-wilde-16_best-work_the-best-work-in-literature-is-always-do_371707.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/oscar-wilde-16_best-work_the-best-work-in-literature-is-always-do_371707.jpg) > ““The best work in literature is always done by those who do not depend upon it for their daily bread, and the highest form of literature, poetry, brings no wealth to the singer. For producing your best work also you will require some leisure and freedom from sordid care.”” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True artistic creation requires freedom from financial pressure; wealth does not guarantee artistic merit. **In simple terms:** Artists need leisure, not money, to produce their best work. Key Takeaway Seek creative freedom over material gain. Themes art freedom wealth creativity Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - artist retreats - grant writing - financial planning for creatives - balancing work and art Key Concepts leisure independence intrinsic motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can you create space for creativity? - What trade‑offs are you willing to make for artistic freedom? A Different Perspective Financial constraints can limit access to leisure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Daily bread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily-bread/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [The best work in literature is always done by those who do not depend on it for their daily bread and the highest form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-best-work-in-literature-is-always-done-by-those-who-do-not-depend-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The answers you get from literature depend on the questions you pose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-answers-you-get-from-literature-depend-on-the-questions-you-pose/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Art works because it appeals to certain faculties of the mind. Music depends on details of the auditory system, painting and sculpture on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/art-works-because-it-appeals-to-certain-faculties-of-the-mind-music/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [“Staying true to what makes you happy, because that always ends up producing the best result.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-olsen/staying-true-to-what-makes-you-happy-because-that-always-ends-up/) [Ashley Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-olsen/) > [My sole focus is producing the best team possible for England.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-southgate/my-sole-focus-is-producing-the-best-team-possible-for-england/) [Gareth Southgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-southgate/) > [“Having the best doesn't make you the best but producing the best makes you the best”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ejembi-louis/having-the-best-doesn-t-make-you-the-best-but-producing-the-best/) Ejembi Louis > [Stay true to what makes you happy, because that always ends up producing the best result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-olsen/stay-true-to-what-makes-you-happy-because-that-always-ends-up/) [Ashley Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-olsen/) > [If I play, I try to concentrate on producing my best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-kahn/if-i-play-i-try-to-concentrate-on-producing-my-best/) [Oliver Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-kahn/) > [The crown of literature is poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-crown-of-literature-is-poetry/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [People cannot stand the saddest truth I know about the very nature of reading and writing imaginative literature, which is that poetry does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/people-cannot-stand-the-saddest-truth-i-know-about-the-very-nature-of-2/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“Sadly, but certainly, a promising genre of literature in poetry that began with pomp and a loud thud, a banger and an emphatic entry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alok-mishra/sadly-but-certainly-a-promising-genre-of-literature-in-poetry-that/) [Alok Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alok-mishra/) > [I really came to literature through poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-really-came-to-literature-through-poetry/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [I am not sure, once a poet has found out what has been written already, and how it was written - once, in short,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/i-am-not-sure-once-a-poet-has-found-out-what-has-been-written-already/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [The crown of literature is poetry. It is its end and aim. It is the sublimest activity of the human mind. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-crown-of-literature-is-poetry-it-is-its-end-and-aim-it-is-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“People cannot stand the saddest truth I know about the very nature of reading and writing imaginative literature, which is that poetry does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/people-cannot-stand-the-saddest-truth-i-know-about-the-very-nature-of/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Best work quotes > [I do my best work when I am in pain and turmoil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting/i-do-my-best-work-when-i-am-in-pain-and-turmoil/) [Sting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sting/) > [The only features I've done have been on the lower-budget end, for what they were. It's really all about getting the best people aboard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-garris/the-only-features-i-ve-done-have-been-on-the-lower-budget-end-for/) [Mick Garris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-garris/) > [The books we enjoy as children stay with us forever -- they have a special impact. Paragraph after paragraph and page after page, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-fleischman/the-books-we-enjoy-as-children-stay-with-us-forever-they-have-a/) [Sid Fleischman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-fleischman/) > [“One's best work comes when we are fully alive, happy, and inspired.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schiffer/one-s-best-work-comes-when-we-are-fully-alive-happy-and-inspired/) Eric Schiffer > [To not be modest about it, you'll find that with only a couple of exceptions, most of the musicians that I've worked with have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/to-not-be-modest-about-it-you-ll-find-that-with-only-a-couple-of/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I know some people say it's not the best to work with your family, but I have never understood that because it's always worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-kardashian/i-know-some-people-say-it-s-not-the-best-to-work-with-your-family-but/) [Kim Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-kardashian/) > [We enjoy what we do and, for me, playing football is the best work in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-moutinho/we-enjoy-what-we-do-and-for-me-playing-football-is-the-best-work-in/) [Joao Moutinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-moutinho/) > [You and I are stymied in our own creativity. We can only create as sub-creators, and even then our best work is only sub-creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/you-and-i-are-stymied-in-our-own-creativity-we-can-only-create-as-sub/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [There's no way a director can communicate with every single person on the set and yet they need to motivate and instill an ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-kennedy/there-s-no-way-a-director-can-communicate-with-every-single-person-on/) [Kathleen Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-kennedy/) > [Hope for the best and work for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deval-patrick/hope-for-the-best-and-work-for-it/) [Deval Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deval-patrick/) > [All I can do is focus on doing my best work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ryder/all-i-can-do-is-focus-on-doing-my-best-work/) [Sam Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ryder/) > [I was wondering if the best was behind me, had the high point of my career already happened. Then I saw what Manolo had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-cox/i-was-wondering-if-the-best-was-behind-me-had-the-high-point-of-my/) [Patrick Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-cox/) > [The only thing I can do is wipe my arse, brush my teeth, turn up and do the best work I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hardy/the-only-thing-i-can-do-is-wipe-my-arse-brush-my-teeth-turn-up-and-do/) [Tom Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hardy/) > [The best work for creative folks on the team is when the problem is big and the solution escapes everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-sinofsky/the-best-work-for-creative-folks-on-the-team-is-when-the-problem-is/) [Steven Sinofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-sinofsky/) > [There should always be that leeway because if you think of your character as sort of absolutely fixed, then you just try and find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-abrahamson/there-should-always-be-that-leeway-because-if-you-think-of-your/) Lenny Abrahamson Browse all 403 Best work quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The best work in literature is always done by those who do not depend upon it for their daily bread, and the highest form of literature, poetry, brings no wealth to the singer. 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